LOS ANGELES—Professor George Wistreich and his wife, Renee Wistreich, saw the sold-out matinee performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts Jan. 27 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. “It’s certainly not something we will forget,” Dr. Wistreich said.
Dr. Wistreich is a fellow of the Royal Society of Health and the American Institute of Chemists. He has authored and co-authored over 70 texts, according to his LinkedIn profile. He taught microbiology and infectious diseases.
He and his wife were both pleased by the performance. Dr. Wistreich said Shen Yun is “very pleasing to the eye and ear.”
The couple commented on the Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra. Mrs. Wistreich said it was “very good.” “It sounded uniquely Chinese. You knew it wasn’t American or Russian. The sound is uniquely Chinese.”
“But there were some things beyond that,” Dr. Wistreich added. He said the orchestra was “very impressive, very forceful, and it was well-coordinated with the dance movements.” “There was no lag. Synchronicity, yes!”
Mrs. Wistreich said she enjoyed watching the Chinese legends, which are told through dance.
Dr. Wistreich said he liked how the dancers performed their art with much feeling. Inner feeling, or bearing, is a major aspect of Chinese dance.
Another feature of Shen Yun is the state-of-the-art graphics technology. Digital, animated backdrops transport audiences to distant ages and realms, from heavenly paradises to rivers amid canyons.
Mrs. Wistreich said the backdrops are very innovative in the way that the dancers move from stage to screen and then back to the stage. “I thought that was unique, and the water running, that’s beautiful,” she said.
She was speaking of the dance Sand Monk Is Blessed, which is set on the banks of the Flowing Sands River. It’s a story from the classic novel Journey to the West.
Shen Yun is “certainly not something we will forget,” Dr. Wistreich said.
Mrs. Wistreich said she liked that one of the dances (An Unexpected Encounter) informed her of the current human rights situation in China. “It’s a sad thing,” she said, adding that the dancers are “brave to have this type of dance.”
Shen Yun is a classical Chinese dance and music company that every year tours to about 20 countries and 100 cities—each year with an all-new production—on a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
The performance includes a collection of dances, including stories and legends that span China’s history, from the Yellow Emperor establishing Chinese civilization through to modern times. Each piece embodies traditional Chinese values.
With reporting by Lu Rusong and Albert Roman
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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